Virtual Reality (VR) is a burgeoning technology that provides users with immersive multimedia or computer-simulated environments. Such environments may simulate the user's physical presence in a fictional world or a world modeled after a real place. VR technology may present the user with graphics, audio, and other sensory enhancements to improve the user's experience within the virtual environment.
Some of today's VR technology still has challenges, however. For example, many VR headsets occlude the user's field of vision of the real word (i.e., physical environment). That is, in order to present a more immersive visual appearance to the user, VR headsets may completely, or mostly, occlude a user's view of everything other than the VR headsets' display. Thus, while wearing the VR headset and engaged in the VR simulation, a user is often prevented from visually sensing and interacting with their real-world surroundings. This lack of visual sensing of the real-world while wearing a VR headset may cause several difficulties and/or problems for the user. For example, the user may be prevented, or at least impeded, in their attempt to orient their hands on a computer keyboard. In another example, the user may be unable to reach for a desired object, such as a drink or phone. In yet another example, the user may not notice another person entering the room or coming within their vicinity. Even still, a user may not even be able to see a wall that they are about to walk into until it is too late.
Some conventional VR systems provide a tracking system that tracks a user's hands and then provides a representation of their hands (e.g., an avatar) within the VR simulation. However, such systems are typically limited to providing the user with a mechanism to interact with just virtual objects that exist in the VR simulation, and are of little help to the problems discussed above.